Democrat Who Blasted Lamb as Out of Touch Suddenly Drops Out, Endorses

Conor Lamb’s positions “are not in line with … Democratic voter positions here in Allegheny County and Beaver County,” Ray Linsenmayer said two weeks ago.

By NTK Staff | 04.16.2018 @12:00pm

What a difference two weeks can make. Ray Linsenmayer, the Democrat challenging Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District, said Lamb and the positions he took when running against state Rep. Rick Saccone in the PA-18 race “are not in line with a lot of the Democratic Party and Democratic voter positions here in Allegheny County and Beaver County.”

Specifically, Linsenmayer questioned Lamb’s commitment to banning assault weapons and “high-capacity magazines,” as well as his commitment to protecting abortion rights.

“I think you should be worried about a politician who is not focused both personally and professionally on making sure that a woman has the right to choose,” Linsenmayer said just over two weeks ago.

But suddenly, Linsenmayer has changed his tune. According to Roll Call, the Democrat has decided to drop out of the Democrat primary and endorse Lamb. That would clear the path for Lamb to challenge Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-PA) unopposed.

“Conor Lamb has always shown himself to be a man of strong character and leadership, and has proven he can withstand any attacks the GOP throws at him,” Linsenmayer said Sunday. “While Rep. Lamb and I differ on some issues, we won’t make progress on any of them without defeating Keith Rothfus and bringing new leadership to Congress.”

The question for Lamb and all PA-17 Democrats is whether they’re willing to overlook Lamb’s out-of-touch positions as easily as Linsenmayer was. That fact remains to be seen, but for now, Lamb will have smooth sailing through the primary, just as he did in the PA-18 race last month.